Earlier: Hi, this is Dr. Biff Palmer
reporting in for the SummitClimb Everest Tibet expedition on April 19th.

This is our 3rd day in
Chinese Basecamp at 5200 metres/17,000 feet. Members have used this day to
continue the acclimatization process. Activities have ranged from short hikes
in the neighbouring hills, washing clothes, reading, and playing chess. Many
also used the day to take showers in our rudimentary, but functional shower
tents.

The camp is situated in a
valley in which the North Face of Everest towers above one end. The beauty of
the mountain is particularly noteworthy at sunset, at which time the face
takes on a bright orange hue. Equally as impressive are the nighttime skies.
Without city lights, one can easily see the brightly lit Milky Way extend from
one horizon to the other.

Health wise, the team is in
good shape. Several members have had minor respiratory colds, but nothing
serious. For my professional colleagues, renal function is stable. We
anxiously await the arrival tomorrow of 56 yaks to carry equipment to what is
called ABC (advanced basecamp).at 6400 metres/21,000 feet.

The team will move tomorrow
towards ABC, but spend two nights at an interim camp at 5800 metres/19,000
feet to continue the acclimatization process.

As I sign off, I send my
love to my two precious children, Robert and Kelly Palmer.

Hi, this is a dispatch for
the SummitClimb Everest Tibet expedition on April 18th from Everest Basecamp
at 5200 metres/17,000 feet.

Yesterday after breakfast
we left Tingri and drove very anxiously through the Tibetan Himalayan
foothills, with spectacular views of the mountains and numerous yak herding
families towards basecamp.

After arriving at basecamp
around noon, we helped set up tents and unpacked our gear. The rest of the day
we spent exploring our immediate surroundings and enjoying the view of Everest
towering over us.

After a mild night of -5
degrees centigrade, half of our group explored the way up to IBC (Intermediate
Basecamp), while the others walked down the valley to the Rongbuk Monastery
for a puja ceremony, blessings for a safe and successful climb.

After a tasty lunch, we
relaxed in basecamp and continued our acclimatization to the rising altitude.
Bye for now.

April 16: Hi, this is
Richard Little calling in for the SummitClimb Everest Tibet expedition on
April 16th from Tingri in Tibet.

We’re at about 4400
metres/14,000 feet spending a rest day here before going on to basecamp
tomorrow. We left Kathmandu at about 4:30 a.m. on the 14th and arrived at the
Friendship Bridge on the border at about 9:30 a.m. that morning. It took us
about 5 hours to clear the processing at the border, which was kind of tough
for us because most of us got very little sleep the night before, as it was
New Year’s Eve on the Hindu calendar. There was lots of activity going on in
the hotels and streets of Kathmandu with lots of noise, but we were anxious to
get started.

After crossing through the
border we spent the night in Zhangmu, which is a border town. Then the next
morning we spent what can only be described as 6 teeth-jarring hours on dirt
roads to get here to Tingri. It’s an extraordinary place located up on the
Tibetan plateau.

It’s been great because
we’ve now switched our diets from Nepalese to Chinese food for a change. All
of the food has been really great with lots of it.

Everyone is doing fine here
and looking forward to being in basecamp tomorrow. With that, I will say bye
for now. This is Richard Little signing off.

Earlier: 15 April, 2009: Hello SummitClimb news.
This is Arnold Coster, the leader of the Everest Tibet expedition calling in a
dispatch for 15 April from Tingri in Tibet. Yesterday we had a hard day
crossing the border in Zhangmu, but eventually we managed to get into Tibet.
It was a bit hard for me to call, so that's why I'm reporting in now.

This morning we left Zhangmu early at
7:00 a.m. Chinese time and drove to Tingri. The whole team is in Tingri now at
4300 metres/14,200 feet. Tomorrow we will also stay in Tingri so that the
truck with all of our equipment can catch up and go ahead to basecamp. When we
show up our basecamp will be ready.

All members are doing fine and healthy.
Everybody was a little bit irritated from the long wait for the visa and also
the long wait at the border crossing, but everything is good now. Our
expedition is finally getting started.

The weather is perfect. I'm sitting on
top of a hill right now looking at Everest and Cho Oyu and they just look
gorgeous. There are very few foreign teams here, so I think we may have a big
mountain for ourselves.

I will send the next dispatch in once
we reach basecamp. Bye, bye.

Earlier: Hi SummitClimb news readers, Yesterday we finally got the
got news from Lhasa that our Everest permit is approved. Now we only have to
see how fast they can wrap up the paperwork.

We had a very good trek up to Kala Patar. All members
reached above 5300 metres/17,400 feet and some even went up to 5500 metres/18,000
feet. Because we are all used to the altitude now, we can drive straight to
basecamp and be able to make up for lost time.

Actually, we are very lucky to see both sides of the
mountain and the trek in the Khumbu Valley is so nice.

Today we will trek for about 8 hours back to Lukla and if
everything goes well weather wise, we will fly back to Kathmandu Friday
morning.

This is it for now and I hope the next message will be from
Tibet in a couple of days. -Arnold Coster

It is still not sure when we will receive
the Tibet permit, so instead of waiting in noisy, dusty Kathmandu, we decided
to go into the mountains to start our acclimatisation.

We will climb as high as possible, so we
can skip days on the drive into Tibet. This way we will not loose a lot of
time. We are having contact with Tibet every day and they are positive we will
get a permit and visa. It's just a little bit delayed.

Today everybody walked to the 'Everest
View Hotel' and got some very good views of Everest. Tomorrow we will probably
go to Pangboche at about 4000 metres/13,000 feet to gain some more altitude.
The whole team is very happy to be here and thinks this little side trip is
like a bonus.

As soon as I have more news about the
opening of Tibet, I will report it to you. This is it for now.

Arnold Coster

Earlier:
Dan and his company is planning to return to Everest again in 2009 with
several expeditions. Some of the highlights...

A. Mount Everest. In May of 2008, we put 14 members on the summit with 14
sherpas. We have very strong and experienced leaders with some of the most
helpful and accomplished sherpas you will ever meet. Our equipment is superb
and the meals are delicious. Leaders: Dan Mazur, Arnold Coster, Sam Mansikka,
Max Kausch. Our 10th Everest expedition!

A. The original first ascent route made famous by Tenzing and Hillary in
1953. 29 March to 5 June 2009,

B. The exotic and less-expensive side of Everest, made famous by Mallory
and Irvine in 1928. 29 March to 5 June 2009

C. Now offering (for those who need to do-it-all) the 'Everest-Traverse'
over the summit from Nepal to Tibet AND Tibet to Nepal.

D. Mount Lhotse (fourth highest in the world and climbed from the same
route as Everest) In May of 2008, we placed 5 members on the top including 4
Sherpas. Leaders: Dan Mazur, Arnold Coster, Sam Mansikka. Our 5th Lhotse
expedition! 29 March to 5 June 2009

E. Cho Oyu (6th highest in the world located beside Everest,
most-accessible of the world's fourteen 26,000 foot peaks) In October of 2008,
13 members made the summit including the first woman to ski from the summit
along with 5 sherpas. High-fun snow-climb. We teach you everything you need to
know. Our 8th Cho Oyu expedition! 23 April to 30 May or 1
September to 8 October

Etc etc... Looks like Dan and Summitclimb will be busy again in 2009..